Intimidation Should Not Be Tolerated

May 16, 2013

Both Democrats and Republicans in Congress seem upset about revelations the Internal Revenue Service focused enforcement actions on conservative political groups during the election campaign last year. Good. Even though the IRS insists it did not target opponents of President Barack Obama, evidence to the contrary is clear and incontrovertible.

Angry lawmakers are vowing to investigate the IRS - and they should. The only question is how high up on the organizational ladder decisions to harass political opponents went.

Information about the IRS comes on the heels of news that some government employees who wanted to tell the truth about the attack last year on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, were intimidated.

A pattern is emerging, of a president who will not tolerate dissent and will mobilize the entire machinery of the government to suppress it.

As thoughtful leaders on both sides of the political aisle in Congress understand, that simply is not acceptable. That is not what the United States stands for - and it must be stopped. Now.